Strength Simplified: Principles That Actually Build Strength
We can prioritize fun or we can prioritize results. You choose.
What’s interesting isn’t necessarily impactful, and what’s impactful is rarely interesting.
You can either be fancy or effective, but you can’t be both.
These blunt reminders have guided me through fifteen years of coaching. They’ve helped me “keep the goal the goal,” cut through the noise, and stay focused on what actually drives progress.
When it comes to building strength, the truth is simpler than most think. There’s no secret program, no magic tempo, no cutting-edge technique that replaces the fundamentals. Strength training is closer to making a PB&J than crafting a five-course meal-straightforward, satisfying, and effective when you know what you’re doing. But like any recipe, you have to understand the basics before you can start improvising.
It took me years (and plenty of mistakes) to really learn those basics. My hope is that this article helps shorten that learning curve for you-and helps you get the most out of your training with the EmberBox.
Progressive Overload: The Golden Rule
If there’s one law of strength training, this is it. The body only adapts when it’s met with a challenge it hasn’t yet mastered. The key is that the challenge must be hard—but doable. That’s the sweet spot where progress happens.
In coaching, we often talk about bringing athletes to the *edge of their ability.* That’s not just motivational language; it’s physiology. When you lift slightly more than you did last week, you’re signaling your body to grow stronger. Maybe it’s two more reps, maybe it’s 20 seconds less rest, maybe it’s another two pounds from your EmberBox weight kit-it all counts.
Progress doesn’t require heroics. Olympic lifters spend entire seasons chasing a five-pound improvement. They get there by adding half a pound at a time. Strength gains are slow, steady, and brutally honest. If it’s not challenging you, it’s not changing you.
Specificity: The SAID Principle
Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands—the SAID principle—is one of the simplest and most misunderstood ideas in training. You get what you train for.
If you lift heavy weights consistently, you’ll get stronger. If you run long distances often, you’ll get better at running. But if you jump from one program to the next, mixing cardio, circuits, and random strength days, your body never receives a clear enough signal to adapt in any one direction.
Strength requires intent. Heavy loads. High effort. Full recovery. Then repeat. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel-just keep it turning in the same direction long enough for adaptation to occur.
Your EmberBox makes this process efficient: a single, well-designed tool capable of delivering the consistent, progressive stress that strength demands. The variety is in your effort, not the equipment.
Reversibility: Use It or Lose It
Strength fades faster than most people expect. If you don’t train it, you lose it. Simple as that.
The body is efficient-it won’t hold onto abilities you don’t use. Take a few weeks off from lifting heavy and your nervous system, connective tissue, and muscle coordination all begin to decline. Do that often enough and you end up right back where you started.
This is where I see most people struggle. They start strong, make progress, then get distracted by the next trend. Three weeks of cardio here, a “metcon phase” there, and suddenly the signal for strength is gone. I call it Program A.D.D.-constantly changing direction before the body has time to adapt.
Consistency beats creativity. Stay the course, train heavy, and give your body the chance to show you what it’s capable of. “What’s interesting isn’t necessarily impactful, and what’s impactful is rarely interesting.” Stick with what works.
Bringing It All Together
Strength training doesn’t need to be complex—it needs to be consistent. The formula is simple, but the execution takes patience.
Load the EmberBox, challenge yourself, rest fully, and do it again. Then again. Then again. Progress happens quietly, through repetition and intent.
There’s no shortcut and no gimmick. Just smart training, done over time.
Wash, rinse, repeat. Get strong.
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Written by: Andrew Mitchell, Head of Physical Performance